Act of Valor

When a mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative unexpectedly uncovers a chilling plot with potentially unimaginable consequences, a team of the most elite, highly-trained warriors in the modern world is dispatched on a top-secret operation.

Positive role models

Several real-life Navy SEALs star in the movie, and while their teamwork, discipline, heroism, and training are on display, so is their dangerous, violent job. The soldiers are all very family oriented and are ready to make big sacrifices when necessary.

Sex

Violence

Tons of blood and loud, jarring action violence. In a particularly brutal sequence, a woman is kidnapped, beat up, and tortured. Dozens of children are killed by a truck bomb. Viewers see several suicide bombers -- including some who look like teen girls -- ready to die for their cause. Terrorists are shot in the head. Soldiers engage in shoot-outs with high-powered guns; there's also face-to-face combat. Some characters are injured, and many die, including some of the good guys.

Real-life SEALs can't save poorly made, violent movie.

what parents need to know

Parents need to know that Act of Valor is a fact-based action movie about the Navy SEALs -- who are mostly played by real-life active-duty SEALs. Strong violence includes a brutal sequence of a woman being kidnapped, beat up, and tortured, and a scene in which many children are killed by truck bomb. There's also tons of guns and shooting, blood, graphic shootings, injuries, and death. Language isn't constant but includes occasional uses of "f--k" and "s--t," as well as some brief innuendo. The movie's message is mixed: On the one hand, the characters are unquestionably brave and selfless team members who value family, country, and sacrifice; but on the other, their job is violent and requires injuring and killing others. The values that viewers bring to the movie will affect how they ultimately perceive its messages.

what families can talk about

Families can talk about the Act of Valor's violence. Is it justified? How does it compare to what you've seen in other action movies?

Was it the right decision to cast real-life Navy SEALs in the movie? Does it make the movie more realistic? How else does it work? In what ways doesn't it work?

How does the movie reflect the military? How does that compare to other military depictions you've seen in movies and on TV?

This review is provided by Common Sense Media. For more information, visit commonsense.org

Tomatometer®

Audience

72%

Audience Reviews

3 stars

The only easy day was yesterday.
Good FIlm! The action scenes (using live ammunition) are breathtaking! Using actual SEALs as actors in the film does bring a certain amount of realism to the action that you don't see in other action films but that's about all the movie has to offer. The story is by the numbers and the characters are about as underdeveloped as any film I've seen (which makes them hard to tell apart). For pure action though the movie definitely works. Action junkies will be more than thrilled! All in all, a solid action movie, with a very sound war theme in the age of political correctness.
An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America.

- MANUGINO, Sunday, June 10, 2012

3 stars

Act of Valor subverts expectations entirely. Unless for whatever reason you find, say, Braveheart lacking in dramatic depth, there is almost no resemblance to a video game born. Most of this is thanks to the opening twenty minutes, the crux of what sets the entire film apart from a fun-yet-shallow Jason Statham flick. There is a sweet, loving vibe in the film as we see the soldiers' care for their families at home, as well. This utter poignancy reappears during the film's finale, one of the most satisfyingly emotional conclusions in a war document since Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima. The hour and a half in between is action, but we've been given enough drama to care about the characters, hence the thrilling success. The sound mixing, film editing, and (surprisingly stable) cinematography all increase the tenseness heavily.

- spielberg00, Thursday, November 1, 2012

4 stars

Wow, if these "actors" are actual Seals, this is amazing. Very competent in front of the camera, and so real this seems like a documentary. Highly recommended for its realistic portrayal of the Seals' lives and for the attention paid to military detail.